Using Digital Portfolios to Foster Student Learning

In this workshop, participants will take an in-depth look at the power of digital portfolios as a tool to document student learning through exploring various formats and uses of digital portfolios in classrooms. Participants will also be introduced to a wide variety of tools that can be used to create and assemble digital portfolios, and investigate criteria that may be used to select components that would be included in the portfolio. Participants will leave the workshop with detailed plans for implementing a Digital Portfolio Project in their respective classrooms.



Session 1

Reviewing Digital Portfolios

This session's readings will introduce the power and potential of digital portfolios (also called webfolios, electronic portfolios or ePortfolios). After reading two introductions on how the Internet has changed the use of academic portfolios in the K-12 classroom, you will have an opportunity to review and compare a number of portfolios developed by different grade levels and content areas. In the discussion board, you will reflect on how digital portfolios are being used in schools to demonstrate student learning.

The Power of Portfolios, Lynn Cohen, Scholastic
Read about the rationale for portfolio assessment, including how a record of a student’s academic growth and development over time will help students to be more reflective, better learners and will help teachers to make better classroom decisions.
Electronic Portfolios in the K-12 Classroom, Education World
This introductory article offers an overview of electronic portfolios and provides guidelines for developing portfolios in your classroom. This workshop will follow the steps outlined here: Collection/Selection, Reflection, Direction, and Connection.

Sample Portfolios:

http://eportfolio.citytech.cuny.edu/ePortfolio_examples.shtml

activities
activities

Activities

Activity 1: Watch

Dr. Helen Barrett is the pioneer of digital portfolios. In this fifteen-minute introductory video she will provide you with some further background information on portfolios, including linking ePortfolios to research findings.

Activity 2: Explore Student Portfolios

Explore the following examples of portfolios, and consider the following questions as you view:
  • How are the different components in the portfolios used to measure student learning?
  • What skills are being represented?
  • How are students presenting what they learned?
Grade Level
Examples
Elementary School
Elementary Sample Unit Portfolios
Grade 5 Elementary ePortfolios
Middle School
Electronic Portfolios from Discovery Middle School
Mrs. Ashby’s Sixth Grade Class Portfolio
High School
High Tech High School Portfolios
Nicola’s E-Portfolio
Westwood High School Personal Websites
All grade levels
Richer Picture: Sample Digital Portfolios
Brookfield School Featured e-Portfolios

Activity 3: Portfolio Design Plan

Download the Portfolio Design Plan and save it to your computer; you will be adding material to the template in each session of this workshop.
Complete Part I: Purpose and Part II: Details, which ask you to identify your portfolio assignment's goals, duration and audience. You may continue to revise your Portfolio Design Plan throughout this workshop.



discuss
discuss

Discussion

Discuss the real world student portfolio examples you explored in the Activities section. How do these portfolios show student understanding and learning over time? What are the benefits of this type of assessment as you see it?

additional resources
additional resources

Optional Reading

E-Portfolios Come of Age, T.H.E. Journal



Session 2
Collecting the Components of a Digital Portfolio Collecting the components of a student portfolio is the first step in the digital portfolio process. In this session you will consider how to choose components for your students’ digital portfolios and will watch another video to better understand the different stages of the portfolio process. After completing another section of your Portfolio Design Plan, your colleagues will help you refine your decision for your portfolio components in the discussion board.


read
read

Readings

Digital Portfolios: A Dozen Lessons in a Dozen Years, by David Niguidula, Gail Ring, and Hilarie Davis
This article presents of twelve lessons learned about implementing and maintaining a digital portfolio system. For more information about the authors of this article, visit the Richer Picture website.

activities
activities

Activities

Activity 1: Watch

Watch Dr. Helen Barrett’s ePortfolios Video-Part 2. In this video, Dr. Barrett covers what she has done to synthesize the research on traditional portfolios and multimedia technology and offers advice for keeping an ePortfolio.
While Dr. Barrett speaks about technology later in the video, pay particular attention to the Collection/Selection process: your decision about the types of artifacts or components to include in the student portfolio should be goal-oriented and reflect the learning objectives of your curriculum.

Activity 2: Consider Components

Deciding what to include in a student portfolio is a critically important part of the portfolio process. As you think about what types of artifacts to include, consider the following two elementary examples.
K-12 Digital Portfolios, Oyster River School District
This webpage shows how one school district is using student portfolios to collect student work from Kindergarten through eighth grade. Review the types of artifacts that students add to their portfolios each year and think about the value of each piece.
Kaitlyn’s Student Led Conference
This VoiceThread contains both audio and images, allowing the student to navigate through and comment upon some of her own work. As you explore the VoiceThread, notice the breadth of work that she is showcasing. Think about the different types of artifacts that would be appropriate for your own students’ portfolios.
Note: To hear the VoiceThread, click the Play button (underneath Comment) at the bottom of the page. To go to the next slide, click the right arrow in the bottom-right corner of the page.

Activity 3: Portfolio Design Plan

After reviewing your work in Parts I and II, complete Part III: Artifacts/Components of your Portfolio Design Plan. This section asks you to list the various pieces that will be included in the portfolio that evidence student understanding and mastery of curriculum objectives.

discuss
discuss

Discussion

Think about a unit you currently teach in your class and reflect on the artifacts you use to measure student mastery of that unit’s objectives. Based on this session's readings and your initial work on your template, what do you think makes for a good artifact?

additional resources
additional resources

Optional Reading

Samantha Gladwell’s Digital Portfolio



Session 3

Selecting the Right Tools for Building a Digital Portfolio
In this session you will explore what tools would be most appropriate for creating a digital portfolio in your school system, as well as what platform or system would be best to contain these portfolios. You will consider your local assessment initiatives and available technology resources as you review the different platforms available. For this session's activities, you will explore tools and resources to design a Portfolio Template to use in your classroom and then share your ideas with your online colleagues.

read
read

Readings

Balancing the Two Faces of ePortfolios, Dr. Helen Barrett
This article discusses how to balance two aspects of a portfolio: a work in progress that collects ongoing student work and a documentation of achievement to showcase at the end of a school year.
Moving to Digital Student Portfolios, Langwitches Blog
The author of this article discusses some of the advantages to using digital portfolios to track student learning, and then lists some popular (and free) digital portfolio platforms.
10 Reasons to use a Blog for your ePortfolio, Barbara Schroeder
This blog post reveals ten reasons why choosing a blog or weblog is an apt choice for creating student ePortfolios.

activities
activities

Activities

Activity 1: Explore Online Portfolio Platforms

After you’ve considered the goals of the portfolio and decided upon the tools you will use, you will need a digital “container” to hold all of the artifacts. Eschewing the tradition of three-ring binders, many educators recommend using free, online platforms to hold student portfolios. Explore at least one of the tools listed below and think about whether you think it would be a suitable tool for digital portfolios in your own classroom.
Platform
Support
Description
Google Sites
Video tutorial on how to get started with Google Sites
Creating an Interactive Portfolio with Google Sites
Clemson University’s ePortfolio: Build your Google Site
Google Sites is a free website creating tool. A Google account is required to create a site; sites may then be either public or private depending on the wishes of the author. Google Sites integrates well with Google Docs and can support a number of different media, such as videos and photos.
Edublogs
10 Ways to Use your Edublog to Teach
Edublogs Video Tutorials
Edublogs is a free, secure education blogging tool powered by WordPress. It is tailored specifically to classroom use with features to enhance privacy and security.
VoiceThread
Digital portfolios for student-led parent conferences
VoiceThread as a Digital Portfolio
VoiceThread is an online tool that allows a contributor to comment—either via brief text or audio—on a series of images. VoiceThreads can be public or private, but do not support text as well as Google Sites or Edublogs.

Activity 2: Portfolio Design Plan

Complete Part IV: Tools for Creating the Portfolio in your Portfolio Design Plan. This section of the plan asks you to identify the most appropriate tool(s) for the creation of your digital portfolio assignment.
The digital tools you will use can range from scanners, to word processing programs, to PowerPoint, to video and audio recordings. You must also consider the constraints of the resources available to your school and the level of technological skill your students possess.
if_interested
if_interested
Create a Portfolio Template
If you are ready to implement student portfolios in your classroom, take some time to create an account in Google Sites, Edublogs, or VoiceThread. Then create a digital portfolio template that you will use with your students.
Refer to your Portfolio Design Plan to guide you through the organization process. How many pages will you want to include?
What types of artifacts will you want to include? For more ideas, have a look at this school’s portfolio template, or this Google Site created by Dr. Helen Barrett.

discuss
discuss

Discussion

Share some of the tools that you would like student to use as part of the portfolio you are developing. What tools did you select and why? Are you planning on trying any new technologies to record evidence of student learning?

additional resources
additional resources

Optional Reading

My Online Portfolio Adventure, Dr. Helen Barrett
Alternative ePortfolio Templates, ISTE



Session 4

Using Digital Portfolios as a Tool for Student Self-Reflection
In this session, you will think about selecting portfolio pieces that encourage students to reflect on their work, revealing their growth. This session’s activities will give you an opportunity to explore some checklists developed for that purpose. You will then use the discussion board to share your ideas on the importance of student self-reflection and how that reflection might translate into a digital portfolio activity.

Activity 2: Watch the Student-Reflection Videos

The examples of one elementary-aged student highlight the importance of student reflection during the portfolio process. As you watch the videos below, think about the questions that you would ask your own students as they reflect on the work in their portfolio.

Activity 3: Portfolio Design Plan

Complete Part V: Opportunities for Student Reflection in your Portfolio Design Plan. This section asks you to define how your portfolio project will record student self-reflection on work and achievem


read
read

Readings

10 Steps for Building Your Portfolio, University of North Texas
This document will help you and your students to walk through the process of selecting pieces for the portfolio and reflecting on them (pay particular attention to Step 7). The focus of this document is Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, but the guiding questions can be applicable to all subject areas.
Authentic Assessment Toolbox, Jon Mueller
Explore the section on "Reflection on Samples of Work” through "Other Reflection Methods.” Think about the reflection criteria you think will be suitable for your students in a portfolio/learning context and how you will ask students to record their self-reflection processes.

activities
activities

Activities

Activity 1: Watch

Without the reflections, a portfolio is just a digital scrapbook. In the video Dr. Helen Barrett’s ePortfolios Video-Part 3, Dr. Barrett describes how turning a collection of artifacts into a portfolio of evidence gives students space to be reflective and meta-cognitive about the work they’ve done.

Activity 2: Watch the Student-Reflection Videos

The examples of one elementary-aged student highlight the importance of student reflection during the portfolio process. As you watch the videos below, think about the questions that you would ask your own students as they reflect on the work in their portfolio.

Activity 3: Portfolio Design Plan

Complete Part V: Opportunities for Student Reflection in your Portfolio Design Plan. This section asks you to define how your portfolio project will record student self-reflection on work and achievement of goals.

discuss
discuss

Discussion

How important is self-reflection for students? Share ways that you currently use reflection techniques in the classroom and how you might use digital portfolios to encourage the same type of student reflection.



Session 5

Using Digital Portfolios to Assess Student Learning
This session's readings introduce portfolios as an alternative tool for assessing student learning and discuss how portfolios relate to other methods of ongoing assessment. In the Activities section, you will explore an assessment package, developed and used in a California school district, that incorporates digital portfolios. In the workshop discussion board, you will share and learn from one another's perspectives on the use of portfolios as assessment measures.

Create, Grade, Prosper, Scholastic
See how one school uses digital portfolios to peer-review student work, provide teacher feedback on assignments, and assess student learning both in process and in product.
Authentic Assessment, Park University Faculty Development Resources
This article provides some good background information on authentic assessment, the advantages and disadvantages of using this in the classroom, and ideas for implementing authentic assessment.
Digital Portfolios: Balancing Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment, Bill Carozza
In this blog post, the author discusses how his school uses digital portfolios for assessment. He also identifies some of the equipment his staff uses to create the digital portfolios and suggests some advantages of using this type of assessment.

activities
activities

Activities

Activity 1: Review a Model for Portfolio Assessment

Explore this example of a portfolio assessment package for a district in California. Review the subsections and think about what it would take to develop a similar plan that would best suit the needs of your local context.

Activity 2: Watch

In this final video from Dr. Helen Barrett’s series, she offers ideas to finalize and polish the portfolios for your students. She explores ways to help students turn their portfolios into “dynamic celebrations of learning across the lifespan.”

Activity 3: Portfolio Design Plan

Complete Part VI: Assessment and Performances of Understanding in your Portfolio Design Plan. This part of the template asks you to identify what specific student performances of understanding you want to measure in your students’ portfolios.

discuss
discuss

Discussion

In today’s high-stakes testing environments, what potential do you see for using digital portfolios as one method of assessing student learning?

additional resources
additional resources

Optional Reading

Portfolio Assessment, Jay Mathews
The Next Killer App?, David Warlick



Session 6

Putting it All Together
In this session you will work on completing your Portfolio Design Plan and reflect on what you have learned in this workshop. You will also read about various strategies for implementing portfolios in your school. In the discussion board, you will have the opportunity to review and comment on the final versions of other participants' portfolio plans.

read
read

Readings

The Digital Convergence: Extending the Portfolio Model, Gary Greenberg, Educause
In this Educause article, the author discusses how the portfolio, a collection of ongoing, incomplete and finished pieces of work is no longer just for the artist. With the invention of the digital portfolio, anyone in any discipline can gather feedback, gain new perspectives and self-evaluate their work. This portfolio can even be maintained beyond schooling to have long-term and professional benefits.
Note: A PDF version of this article is also available.

activities
activities

Activities

Activity 1: Complete Portfolio Design Plan

Complete Part VII: Final Action Plan in your Portfolio Design Plan. In this final section of the template, you will specify a time span and draft a “to do” list that you will need to address in order to complete and implement digital portfolios in your classroom.
Review your entire Portfolio Design Plan, save it, and then and post it—along with a brief description—in this session’s discussion forum for feedback.
Please note that posting of a completed Final Project is a requirement for successful completion of this workshop. Contact your facilitator directly if you have any questions about this requirement.

Activity 2: Take the Final Survey

As part of this session, your facilitator will provide you with instructions for completing the Final Survey. Your anonymous feedback is extremely valuable, and helps us make improvements in the workshop. Please note that completion of the Final Survey is a requirement for successful completion of this workshop.
Note to facilitators: At the conclusion of this session, please take a few minutes to complete ETLO's Facilitator Survey. Your feedback will help us make improvements to our core facilitator training courses and workshop content.

discuss
discuss

Discussion

Post your final Portfolio Design Plan in the Discussion Board, and write a brief summary of what you plan to do. Take the time to review and comment on at least one other Plan posted by another participant.

additional resources
additional resources

Optional Reading

Here, There, and Everywhere, Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology
Helen Barrett's E-Portfolios for Learning blog


Workshop Support Materials
  1. Final Product Guidelines
    http://www.edtechleaders.org/documents/finalproject_guidelines.htm
  2. Discuss Board Expectations
    http://www.edtechleaders.org/documents/disc_expectations.htm
  3. Portfolio Design Plan
    http://edtechleaders.org/html_cores/portfolio/01_132b416/documents/Portfolio_FP09.doc

Orientation

  1. Tips for Online Success
    http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/tips.asp
  2. Self-Evaluation for Potential Online Students
    http://www.ion.illinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/selfEval.asp

Session One: Reviewing Digital Portfolios

  1. The Power of Portfolios, Lynn Cohen, Scholastic
    http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=12004
  2. Electronic Portfolios in the K-12 Classroom, Education World
    http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech111.shtml
  3. Dr. Helen Barrett’s ePortfolios Video-Part 1
    http://blip.tv/file/989533/
  4. Elementary Sample Unit Portfolios
    http://www.np.k12.mn.us/TechIntegration/intelcd/CourseCD/HTML/Elementary.html
  5. Grade 5 Elementary ePortfolios
    http://www.boston.k12.ma.us/mattahunt/
  6. Electronic Portfolios from Discovery Middle School
    http://longwood.cs.ucf.edu/%7EMidLink/portfolios.dms.html
  7. Mrs. Ashby’s Sixth Grade Class Portfolio
    http://reta.nmsu.edu/Lessons/digital/elem/pptpres/index.htm
  8. High Tech High School Portfolios, San Diego, CA
    http://www.hightechhigh.org/digital_portfolios.php?school=hthi
  9. Nicola’s E-Portfolio
    http://nicola-eportfolio.blogspot.com/
  10. Westwood High School Personal Websites
    http://westwood.wikispaces.com/Personal+Website+Project
  11. Richer Picture: Sample Digital Portfolios
    http://www.richerpicture.com/samples.php
  12. Brookfield School Featured e-Portfolios
    http://brookfield.digication.com/portfolio/directory.digi
  13. E-Portfolios Come of Age, T.H.E. Journal
    http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/11/09/elearning.aspx?sc_lang=en

Session Two: Collecting the Components of a Digital Portfolio

  1. Digital Portfolios: A Dozen Lessons in a Dozen Years, Niguidula, Ring and Davis
    http://www.richerpicture.com/dozenLessons.pdf
  2. Dr. Helen Barrett’s ePortfolios Video-Part 2
    http://blip.tv/file/989513/
  3. K-12 Digital Portfolios, Oyster River School District
    http://www.orcsd.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107&Itemid=138
  4. Kaitlyn’s Student Led Conference
    http://voicethread.com/share/346039/
  5. Getting Started with Digital Portfolios, David Niguidula
    http://www.essentialschools.org/pub/ces_docs/resources/dp/getstart.html
  6. Samantha Gladwell’s Digital Portfolio
    http://samgladwell.weebly.com/index.html

Session Three: Selecting the Right Tools for Building a Digital Portfolio

  1. Balancing the Two Faces of ePortfolios, Dr. Helen Barrett
    http://electronicportfolios.com/balance/index.html
  2. Moving to Digital Student Portfolios, Langwitches Blog
    http://langwitches.org/blog/2009/08/15/moving-to-digital-student-portfolios/
  3. 10 Reasons to use a Blog for your ePortfolio, Barbara Schroeder
    http://itcboisestate.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/10-reasons-to-use-a-blog-for-your-eportfolio/
  4. Google Sites
    http://sites.google.com
  5. Google Sites Tutorial
    http://www.google.com/sites/help/intl/en/overview.html
  6. Creating an Interactive Portfolio with Google Sites
    http://sites.helenbarrett.net/portfolio/how-to
  7. Clemson University’s ePortfolio: Build your Google Site
    http://sites.google.com/site/eportfolio1941/Home
  8. Edublogs
    http://edublogs.org/
  9. 10 Ways to Use your Edublog to Teach
    http://edublogs.org/10-ways-to-use-your-edublog-to-teach/
  10. Edublogs Video Tutorials
    http://edublogs.org/videos/
  11. VoiceThread
    http://www.voicethread.com
  12. Digital portfolios for student-led parent conferences
    http://voicethread.com/library/39/
  13. VoiceThread as a Digital Portfolio
    http://teachingsagittarian.com/2009/03/voicethread-as-a-digital-portfolio/comment-page-1/
  14. ePortfolios with Google Apps, Dr. Helen Barrett
    http://sites.google.com/site/eportfolioapps/Home
  15. Example Portfolio Template
    http://sites.google.com/site/rsu19portfoliotemplate/
  16. My Online Portfolio Adventure, Dr. Helen Barrett
    http://electronicportfolios.com/myportfolio/versions.html#Overview
  17. Alternative ePortfolio Templates, ISTE
    http://electronicportfolios.com/nets.html

Session Four: Using Digital Portfolios as a Tool for Student Self-Reflection

  1. 10 Steps for Building Your Portfolio
    http://www.cte.unt.edu/home/Prof_devl/stem/10_Steps_portfolio_071708.pdf
  2. Authentic Assessment Toolbox, Jon Mueller
    http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/portfolios.htm#reflection
  3. Dr. Helen Barrett’s ePortfolios Video-Part 3
    http://blip.tv/file/989487/
  4. Tori’s Kindergarten Reflection
    http://homepage.mac.com/eportfolios/iMovieTheater25.html
  5. Tori’s First Grade Portfolio Reflection
    http://homepage.mac.com/eportfolios/iMovieTheater26.html

Session Five: Using Digital Portfolios to Assess Student Learning

  1. Create, Grade, Prosper
    http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=10001
  2. Authentic Assessment
    http://captain.park.edu/facultydevelopment/authentic_assessment.htm
  3. Digital Portfolios: Balancing Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment, Bill Carozza
    http://billcarozza.com/category/digital-portfolios/
  4. Golden State Examination Science Portfolio
    http://www.accessexcellence.org/LC/TL/CGSE/
  5. Dr. Helen Barrett’s ePortfolios Video-Part 4
    http://blip.tv/file/989476/
  6. Portfolio Assessment, Jay Mathews
    http://educationnext.org/portfolio-assessment/
  7. The Next Killer App? David Warlick
    http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1792

Session Six: Putting it All Together

  1. The Digital Convergence: Extending the Portfolio Model
    http://www.educause.edu/library/erm0441
  2. Here, There, and Everywhere, Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology
    http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2009/11/01/ePortfolios.aspx
  3. Dr. Helen Barrett’s E-Portfolios for Learning Blog
    http://electronicportfolios.org/blog/